It's getting hot around here again. It's in the 50's of the night and upper 80's of the day with a lot of humidity. I still have many things to accomplish before winter. I need to get most of the garden cleaned off. I'm still hauling in some wood in my spare time. We've been canning some kraut and green tomatoes. We picked some apples late yesterday evening and spent last night peeling and freezing. My wife made an apple pie and it was really good. The only thing missing was some vanilla ice cream.
I'm waiting until the weather cools down to clean out a really large area for a new chicken pen. It'll be about 20 feet wide by about 200 ft long. There is a spring in the middle that I'll cover and I'll put in an automatic watering system from the spring. I'll just winter the few Rhode Island Reds and next spring I'll get another 50-75 pullets. I'm thinking about getting some more geese next spring also. I love geese. They are my favorite farm pets of all. They have great personalities and are great weeders.
That's a lot of chickens! But what a great idea to use the spring for watering.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm jealous of your apple pie. But my day will come....
Judy
The weather here is about the same. It was such an odd summer with much cooler temps that now that it's hot again it's hard to get used to.
ReplyDeleteIs kraut hard to make? I really wanted to try some this year, but didn't get around to it. I used some cabbage in a relish, but other than that we ate all that we had. I didn't like cabbage as a kid, but I guess I'm making up for it now.
Judy, there is nothing better than a hot apple pie and vanilla ice cream.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I usually make tomato kraut. I like it better that traditional kraut. Here's the recipe I use.
4 large heads of cabbage
8 big green tomatoes
Hot peppers, as many as you like
salt
Clean and chop tomatoes, cabbage and peppers to desired size. I just shred everything like I was making cole slaw.
Mix everything well and pack tightly into quart jars. Leave 1 inch headspace. Put 1 tablespoon pickling salt in each jar and slowly fill with water as it will take a while if it is packed tightly. It is very important that no air remains. Use a plastic knife to run around the outside of the kraut to make sure no air remains. Put on a lid and tighten. Place in cool dark place for several weeks until ready. (about 6)